System and method for importation of configuration item (ci) data into a configuration management database (cmdb)

ABSTRACT

An importation tool is disclosed that enables importation of configuration item (CI) data into a configuration management database (CMDB) from external services. The CMDB importation tool includes corresponding predefined configurations for particular external services that define how the data collected by the external services is imported into the CMDB, either directly or via one or more transformations, enabling importation of external service data regardless of the format or schema used by the external service. The CMDB importation tool enables relationships to be defined between attributes of the imported data, and ensures that these relationships are enforced during the importation process to provide improved internal consistency of the imported data. Additionally, certain CMDB classes may be modified with specialized fields to enable improved duplicate tracking and management within the CMDB. As such, these techniques enhance both the quantity and quality of CI data stored within the CMDB.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/731,390, filed Dec. 31, 2019, and entitled, “SYSTEM AND METHOD FORIMPORTATION OF CONFIGURATION ITEM (CI) DATA INTO A CONFIGURATIONMANAGEMENT DATABASE (CMDB),” which is incorporated by reference hereinin its entirety for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates generally to a configuration managementdatabase (CMDB), and, more specifically, to importing configuration item(CI) data into a CMDB from an external service.

This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects ofart that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure,which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed tobe helpful in providing the reader with background information tofacilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the presentdisclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statementsare to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.

Organizations, regardless of size, rely upon access to informationtechnology (IT) and data and services for their continued operation andsuccess. A respective organization's IT infrastructure may haveassociated hardware resources (e.g. computing devices, load balancers,firewalls, switches, etc.) and software resources (e.g. productivitysoftware, database applications, custom applications, and so forth).Over time, more and more organizations have turned to cloud computingapproaches to supplement or enhance their IT infrastructure solutions.

Cloud computing relates to the sharing of computing resources that aregenerally accessed via the Internet. In particular, a cloud computinginfrastructure allows users, such as individuals and/or enterprises, toaccess a shared pool of computing resources, such as servers, storagedevices, networks, applications, and/or other computing based services.By doing so, users are able to access computing resources on demand thatare located at remote locations, which resources may be used to performa variety of computing functions (e.g., storing and/or processing largequantities of computing data). For enterprise and other organizationusers, cloud computing provides flexibility in accessing cloud computingresources without accruing large up-front costs, such as purchasingexpensive network equipment or investing large amounts of time inestablishing a private network infrastructure. Instead, by utilizingcloud computing resources, users are able redirect their resources tofocus on their enterprise's core functions.

Certain cloud computing services can host a configuration managementdatabase (CMDB) that tracks information regarding configuration items(CIs) associated with a client. For example, these CIs may includehardware, software, and combinations thereof, disposed on, or operatingwithin, a client network. In order to provide effective resourcemanagement, the CI data stored within the CMDB should accurately reflectthe current state of the CIs associated with a client network. One wayin which the CI data is populated within the CMDB is via a discoveryprocess in which a discovery server operates on the client network todiscover CI data, which is then transmitted back to the cloud computingservice for storage in the CMDB.

It is presently recognized that certain services that also support theclient network, such as asset management services or security services,may also collect meaningful data regarding CIs of a client network.However, the data collected by these services may be in a schema orformat that is not conducive for direct importation into the CMDB.Additionally, different clients may want to import data collected bythese services into their respective CMDBs in different manners fordifferent purposes. Furthermore, the data collected by these servicesmay include not adhere to the constraints of the CMDB, such as classrelationships or relational database table relationships, and mayinclude duplicate data.

SUMMARY

A summary of certain embodiments disclosed herein is set forth below. Itshould be understood that these aspects are presented merely to providethe reader with a brief summary of these certain embodiments and thatthese aspects are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure.Indeed, this disclosure may encompass a variety of aspects that may notbe set forth below.

Present embodiments are directed to an importation tool that enablesimportation of configuration item (CI) data into a configurationmanagement database (CMDB) from external services. The disclosed CMDBimportation tool includes a graphical user interface (GUI) that enablesa designer to define an importation source that retrieves CI data froman external service. The CMDB importation tool includes correspondingpredefined configurations for particular external services that definehow the data collected by the external services can be imported into theCMDB. For example, an import configuration can specify that certaincolumns or fields in the data received from the external service aredirectly imported into particular columns or fields of certain CMDBtables, while predefined transformations are applied to other fieldsprior to importation. These transformations enable the importation of CIdata, regardless of the format or schema of the raw data received fromthe importation source. The GUI of the CMDB importation tool alsoenables configurations to be newly defined or customized to accommodatedifferent CMDB designs. Additionally, the GUI of the CMDB importationtool enables relationships to be defined between fields of the importeddata, such that the CMDB importation tool can ensure that theserelationships are enforced during the importation process, enablingimproved internal consistency of the imported data. Furthermore, incertain embodiments, certain CI tables of the CMDB may include a“Duplicate Of” field that is used by the CMDB importation tool to enableimproved duplicate tracking and management within the CMDB. As such, theCMDB importation tool enhances the quality and accuracy of the CI datawithin the CMDB, improving the ability of the CMDB to effectively beused to manage CIs associated with the client network.

Various refinements of the features noted above may exist in relation tovarious aspects of the present disclosure. Further features may also beincorporated in these various aspects as well. These refinements andadditional features may exist individually or in any combination. Forinstance, various features discussed below in relation to one or more ofthe illustrated embodiments may be incorporated into any of theabove-described aspects of the present disclosure alone or in anycombination. The brief summary presented above is intended only tofamiliarize the reader with certain aspects and contexts of embodimentsof the present disclosure without limitation to the claimed subjectmatter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various aspects of this disclosure may be better understood upon readingthe following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a cloud architecture inwhich embodiments of the present disclosure may operate;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a multi-instance cloudarchitecture in which embodiments of the present disclosure may operate;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a computing device utilized in a computingsystem that may be present in FIG. 1 or 2, in accordance with aspects ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment in which a virtualserver supports and enables the client instance as part of aconfiguration management database (CMDB) and a CMDB importation tool, inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 are simulated screenshots of portions of agraphical user interface (GUI) of the CMDB importation tool, inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 10 is a simulated screenshot of a GUI presenting data from a classof the CMDB having a “Duplicate Of” attribute, in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One or more specific embodiments will be described below. In an effortto provide a concise description of these embodiments, not all featuresof an actual implementation are described in the specification. Itshould be appreciated that in the development of any such actualimplementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerousimplementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve thedevelopers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related andenterprise-related constraints, which may vary from one implementationto another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a developmenteffort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be aroutine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those ofordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.

As used herein, the term “computing system” refers to an electroniccomputing device such as, but not limited to, a single computer, virtualmachine, virtual container, host, server, laptop, and/or mobile device,or to a plurality of electronic computing devices working together toperform the function described as being performed on or by the computingsystem. As used herein, the term “medium” refers to one or morenon-transitory, computer-readable physical media that together store thecontents described as being stored thereon. Embodiments may includenon-volatile secondary storage, read-only memory (ROM), and/orrandom-access memory (RAM). As used herein, the term “application”refers to one or more computing modules, programs, processes, workloads,threads and/or a set of computing instructions executed by a computingsystem. Example embodiments of an application include software modules,software objects, software instances and/or other types of executablecode. As used herein, the term “configuration item” or “CI” refers to arecord for any component (e.g., computer, device, piece of software,database table, script, webpage, piece of metadata, and so forth) in anenterprise network, for which relevant data, such as manufacturer,vendor, location, or similar data, is stored in a CMDB.

As used herein, an “external service” refers to one or more applicationshosted by a processor that is separate from a data center hosting aclient instance and that is communicatively coupled to the data centervia a suitable network connection. Additionally, it may be appreciatedthat the discussion below is directed to a class-based databasestructures, while in other embodiments, a relational database structuresmay be used. With this in mind, for the class-based examples below, theterms “class” and “table” are used interchangeably, and the terms“attribute”, “field”, and “column” are used interchangeably.

Present embodiments are directed to an importation tool that enablesimportation of configuration item (CI) data into a configurationmanagement database (CMDB) from external services. The disclosed CMDBimportation tool includes a graphical user interface (GUI) that enablesa designer to define an importation source that retrieves CI data froman external service. The CMDB importation tool includes correspondingpredefined configurations for particular external services that definehow the data collected by the external services is imported into theCMDB. For example, an import configuration can specify that certainattribute values in the data received from the external service aredirectly imported into particular attributes of certain CMDB classes,while predefined transformations are applied to other fields prior toimportation. These transformations enable the importation of CI dataregardless of the format or schema of the raw data received from theimportation source. The GUI of the CMDB importation tool also enablesconfigurations to be newly defined or customized to accommodatedifferent CMDB designs. Additionally, the GUI of the CMDB importationtool enables relationships to be defined between attributes of theimported data, such that the CMDB importation tool can ensure that theserelationships are enforced during the importation process, enablingimproved internal consistency of the imported data. Furthermore, incertain embodiments, certain CMDB classes may include a “Duplicate Of”attribute that can be used by the CMDB importation tool to enableimproved duplicate tracking and management within the CMDB.

With the preceding in mind, the following figures relate to varioustypes of generalized system architectures or configurations that may beemployed to provide services to an organization in a multi-instanceframework and on which the present approaches may be employed.Correspondingly, these system and platform examples may also relate tosystems and platforms on which the techniques discussed herein may beimplemented or otherwise utilized. Turning now to FIG. 1, a schematicdiagram of an embodiment of a cloud computing system 10 whereembodiments of the present disclosure may operate, is illustrated. Thecloud computing system 10 may include a client network 12, a network 14(e.g., the Internet), and a cloud-based platform 16. In someimplementations, the cloud-based platform 16 may be a configurationmanagement database (CMDB) platform. In one embodiment, the clientnetwork 12 may be a local private network, such as local area network(LAN) having a variety of network devices that include, but are notlimited to, switches, servers, and routers. In another embodiment, theclient network 12 represents an enterprise network that could includeone or more LANs, virtual networks, data centers 18, and/or other remotenetworks. As shown in FIG. 1, the client network 12 is able to connectto one or more client devices 20A, 20B, and 20C so that the clientdevices are able to communicate with each other and/or with the networkhosting the platform 16. The client devices 20 may be computing systemsand/or other types of computing devices generally referred to asInternet of Things (IoT) devices that access cloud computing services,for example, via a web browser application or via an edge device 22 thatmay act as a gateway between the client devices 20 and the platform 16.FIG. 1 also illustrates that the client network 12 includes anadministration or managerial device, agent, or server, such as amanagement, instrumentation, and discovery (MID) server 24 thatfacilitates communication of data between the network hosting theplatform 16, other external applications, data sources, and services,and the client network 12. Although not specifically illustrated in FIG.1, the client network 12 may also include a connecting network device(e.g., a gateway or router) or a combination of devices that implement acustomer firewall or intrusion protection system.

For the illustrated embodiment, FIG. 1 illustrates that client network12 is coupled to a network 14. The network 14 may include one or morecomputing networks, such as other LANs, wide area networks (WAN), theInternet, and/or other remote networks, to transfer data between theclient devices 20 and the network hosting the platform 16. Each of thecomputing networks within network 14 may contain wired and/or wirelessprogrammable devices that operate in the electrical and/or opticaldomain. For example, network 14 may include wireless networks, such ascellular networks (e.g., Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM)based cellular network), IEEE 802.11 networks, and/or other suitableradio-based networks. The network 14 may also employ any number ofnetwork communication protocols, such as Transmission Control Protocol(TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP). Although not explicitly shown in FIG.1, network 14 may include a variety of network devices, such as servers,routers, network switches, and/or other network hardware devicesconfigured to transport data over the network 14.

In FIG. 1, the network hosting the platform 16 may be a remote network(e.g., a cloud network) that is able to communicate with the clientdevices 20 via the client network 12 and network 14. The network hostingthe platform 16 provides additional computing resources to the clientdevices 20 and/or the client network 12. For example, by utilizing thenetwork hosting the platform 16, users of the client devices 20 are ableto build and execute applications for various enterprise, IT, and/orother organization-related functions. In one embodiment, the networkhosting the platform 16 is implemented on the one or more data centers18, where each data center could correspond to a different geographiclocation. Each of the data centers 18 includes a plurality of virtualservers 26 (also referred to herein as application nodes, applicationservers, virtual server instances, application instances, or applicationserver instances), where each virtual server 26 can be implemented on aphysical computing system, such as a single electronic computing device(e.g., a single physical hardware server) or across multiple-computingdevices (e.g., multiple physical hardware servers). Examples of virtualservers 26 include, but are not limited to a web server (e.g., a unitaryApache installation), an application server (e.g., unitary JAVA VirtualMachine), and/or a database server (e.g., a unitary relational databasemanagement system (RDBMS) catalog).

To utilize computing resources within the platform 16, network operatorsmay choose to configure the data centers 18 using a variety of computinginfrastructures. In one embodiment, one or more of the data centers 18are configured using a multi-tenant cloud architecture, such that one ofthe server instances 26 handles requests from and serves multiplecustomers. Data centers 18 with multi-tenant cloud architecturecommingle and store data from multiple customers, where multiplecustomer instances are assigned to one of the virtual servers 26. In amulti-tenant cloud architecture, the particular virtual server 26distinguishes between and segregates data and other information of thevarious customers. For example, a multi-tenant cloud architecture couldassign a particular identifier for each customer in order to identifyand segregate the data from each customer. Generally, implementing amulti-tenant cloud architecture may suffer from various drawbacks, suchas a failure of a particular one of the server instances 26 causingoutages for all customers allocated to the particular server instance.

In another embodiment, one or more of the data centers 18 are configuredusing a multi-instance cloud architecture to provide every customer itsown unique customer instance or instances. For example, a multi-instancecloud architecture could provide each customer instance with its owndedicated application server and dedicated database server. In otherexamples, the multi-instance cloud architecture could deploy a singlephysical or virtual server 26 and/or other combinations of physicaland/or virtual servers 26, such as one or more dedicated web servers,one or more dedicated application servers, and one or more databaseservers, for each customer instance. In a multi-instance cloudarchitecture, multiple customer instances could be installed on one ormore respective hardware servers, where each customer instance isallocated certain portions of the physical server resources, such ascomputing memory, storage, and processing power. By doing so, eachcustomer instance has its own unique software stack that provides thebenefit of data isolation, relatively less downtime for customers toaccess the platform 16, and customer-driven upgrade schedules. Anexample of implementing a customer instance within a multi-instancecloud architecture will be discussed in more detail below with referenceto FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a multi-instance cloudarchitecture 100 where embodiments of the present disclosure mayoperate. FIG. 2 illustrates that the multi-instance cloud architecture100 includes the client network 12 and the network 14 that connect totwo (e.g., paired) data centers 18A and 18B that may be geographicallyseparated from one another. Using FIG. 2 as an example, networkenvironment and service provider cloud infrastructure client instance102 (also referred to herein as a client instance 102) is associatedwith (e.g., supported and enabled by) dedicated virtual servers (e.g.,virtual servers 26A, 26B, 26C, and 26D) and dedicated database servers(e.g., virtual database servers 104A and 104B). Stated another way, thevirtual servers 26A-26D and virtual database servers 104A and 104B arenot shared with other client instances and are specific to therespective client instance 102. In the depicted example, to facilitateavailability of the client instance 102, the virtual servers 26A-26D andvirtual database servers 104A and 104B are allocated to two differentdata centers 18A and 18B so that one of the data centers 18 acts as abackup data center. Other embodiments of the multi-instance cloudarchitecture 100 could include other types of dedicated virtual servers,such as a web server. For example, the client instance 102 could beassociated with (e.g., supported and enabled by) the dedicated virtualservers 26A-26D, dedicated virtual database servers 104A and 104B, andadditional dedicated virtual web servers (not shown in FIG. 2).

Although FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate specific embodiments of a cloudcomputing system 10 and a multi-instance cloud architecture 100,respectively, the disclosure is not limited to the specific embodimentsillustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. For instance, although FIG. 1 illustratesthat the platform 16 is implemented using data centers, otherembodiments of the platform 16 are not limited to data centers and canutilize other types of remote network infrastructures. Moreover, otherembodiments of the present disclosure may combine one or more differentvirtual servers into a single virtual server or, conversely, performoperations attributed to a single virtual server using multiple virtualservers. For instance, using FIG. 2 as an example, the virtual servers26A, 26B, 26C, 26D and virtual database servers 104A, 104B may becombined into a single virtual server. Moreover, the present approachesmay be implemented in other architectures or configurations, including,but not limited to, multi-tenant architectures, generalizedclient/server implementations, and/or even on a single physicalprocessor-based device configured to perform some or all of theoperations discussed herein. Similarly, though virtual servers ormachines may be referenced to facilitate discussion of animplementation, physical servers may instead be employed as appropriate.The use and discussion of FIGS. 1 and 2 are only examples to facilitateease of description and explanation and are not intended to limit thedisclosure to the specific examples illustrated therein.

As may be appreciated, the respective architectures and frameworksdiscussed with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2 incorporate computing systems ofvarious types (e.g., servers, workstations, client devices, laptops,tablet computers, cellular telephones, and so forth) throughout. For thesake of completeness, a brief, high level overview of componentstypically found in such systems is provided. As may be appreciated, thepresent overview is intended to merely provide a high-level, generalizedview of components typical in such computing systems and should not beviewed as limiting in terms of components discussed or omitted fromdiscussion.

By way of background, it may be appreciated that the present approachmay be implemented using one or more processor-based systems such asshown in FIG. 3. Likewise, applications and/or databases utilized in thepresent approach may be stored, employed, and/or maintained on suchprocessor-based systems. As may be appreciated, such systems as shown inFIG. 3 may be present in a distributed computing environment, anetworked environment, or other multi-computer platform or architecture.Likewise, systems such as that shown in FIG. 3, may be used insupporting or communicating with one or more virtual environments orcomputational instances on which the present approach may beimplemented.

With this in mind, an example computer system may include some or all ofthe computer components depicted in FIG. 3. FIG. 3 generally illustratesa block diagram of example components of a computing system 200 andtheir potential interconnections or communication paths, such as alongone or more busses. As illustrated, the computing system 200 may includevarious hardware components such as, but not limited to, one or moreprocessors 202, one or more busses 204, memory 206, input devices 208, apower source 210, a network interface 212, a user interface 214, and/orother computer components useful in performing the functions describedherein.

The one or more processors 202 may include one or more microprocessorscapable of performing instructions stored in the memory 206.Additionally or alternatively, the one or more processors 202 mayinclude application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs),field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and/or other devices designed toperform some or all of the functions discussed herein without callinginstructions from the memory 206.

With respect to other components, the one or more busses 204 includesuitable electrical channels to provide data and/or power between thevarious components of the computing system 200. The memory 206 mayinclude any tangible, non-transitory, and computer-readable storagemedia. Although shown as a single block in FIG. 1, the memory 206 can beimplemented using multiple physical units of the same or different typesin one or more physical locations. The input devices 208 correspond tostructures to input data and/or commands to the one or more processors202. For example, the input devices 208 may include a mouse, touchpad,touchscreen, keyboard and the like. The power source 210 can be anysuitable source for power of the various components of the computingdevice 200, such as line power and/or a battery source. The networkinterface 212 includes one or more transceivers capable of communicatingwith other devices over one or more networks (e.g., a communicationchannel). The network interface 212 may provide a wired networkinterface or a wireless network interface. A user interface 214 mayinclude a display that is configured to display text or imagestransferred to it from the one or more processors 202. In additionand/or alternative to the display, the user interface 214 may includeother devices for interfacing with a user, such as lights (e.g., LEDs),speakers, and the like.

With the preceding in mind, FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating anembodiment in which a virtual server 26 supports and enables the clientinstance 102 as part of a configuration management database (CMDB) 220,according to one or more disclosed embodiments. More specifically, FIG.4 illustrates an example of a portion of a service provider cloudinfrastructure, including the cloud-based platform 16 discussed above.The cloud-based platform 16 is connected to a client device 20 via thenetwork 14 to provide a user interface to network applications executingwithin the client instance 102 (e.g., via a web browser of the clientdevice 20). Client instance 102 is supported by virtual servers 26similar to those explained with respect to FIG. 2, and is illustratedhere to show support for the disclosed functionality described hereinwithin the client instance 102. Cloud provider infrastructures aregenerally configured to support a plurality of end-user devices, such asclient device 20, concurrently, wherein each end-user device is incommunication with the single client instance 102. Also, cloud providerinfrastructures may be configured to support any number of clientinstances, such as client instance 102, concurrently, with each of theinstances in communication with one or more end-user devices. Asmentioned above, an end-user may also interface with client instance 102using an application that is executed within a web browser.

For the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, the client instance 102includes and is supported by the database server 104. The databaseserver 104 hosts a number of database tables storing informationrelating to the operation of the CMDB 220. The CMDB 220 includes anysuitable number of related CI classes (e.g., a computer class, a networkadapter class, a LINUX server class, and so forth), wherein theseclasses are designed to store any suitable number of attributes (e.g.,name, serial number, operational status) for each CI entry. For theillustrated embodiment, the database server 104 also hosts an importsources table 222 that stores configuration and status information forimport operations, as discussed below. For example, the import sourcestable 222 may store attributes for each import source, such as a name ofthe import source, a short description of the import source, arecurrence of an import operation to retrieve data from the importsource, a timestamp of the last recurrence of the import operation, astatus of the last recurrence of the import operation, a timestamp ofthe next recurrence of the import operation, a relative run order of theimport operations, and so forth. In certain embodiments, the importsources table 222 may be part of the CMDB 220.

As mentioned above, in certain cases, an external service 224 maysupport the operation of the client network 12. The illustrated externalservice 224 is hosted by an external server 226 that is communicativelycoupled to the client network 12 and the client instance 102 via thenetwork 14. The external server 226 includes at least one memory 228storing instructions and at least one processor 230 configured toexecute these instructions to provide the desired functionality to theclient network 12. In certain embodiments, at least a portion of theexternal service 224 may be hosted by a server disposed on the clientnetwork 12.

The external service 224 provides functionality to the client network12. A non-limiting list of example external services includes: asecurity service, a financial service, a resource/asset trackingservice, resource/asset management service, server/client managementservice, and so forth. As such, to provide the desired functionality,the external service 224 may collect and maintain external service data232 (also referred to herein as “import source data”) regarding variousCIs (e.g., hardware, software, internal services) associated with theclient network 12 within the at least one memory 228. This externalservice data 232 may include, for example, resource usage data,configuration data, operational status data, purchase and acquisitiondata, and so forth. When the external service data 232 is configured forimportation into the CMDB 220, as discussed below, the external service224 may also be referred to herein as an import source.

As such, it is presently recognized that the data 232 of the externalservice 224 may be useful source of meaningful CI data to have withinthe CMDB 220. However, the data collected by the external service 224may be in a schema or format that is not conducive for directimportation into the CMDB 220. Additionally, it is recognized thatdifferent clients may want to import data collected by the externalservice 224 into their respective CMDBs in different manners fordifferent purposes. Furthermore, the data collected by these servicesmay include not adhere to the constraints of the CMDB 220, such as classrelationships or relational database table relationships, and mayinclude duplicate data.

With the foregoing in mind, for the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4,the virtual server 26 of the client instance 102 hosts a CMDBimportation tool 234. The CMDB importation tool 234 is an applicationthat is stored in a suitable memory of the virtual server 26 andexecuted by a suitable processor of the virtual server 26 to facilitatethe importation of external service data 232 into the CMDB 220. Thedisclosed CMDB importation tool 234 includes a graphical user interface(GUI) 236 that enables a user (e.g., a developer or designer) to defineimport sources and operations in the import sources table 222 withrespect to the external service 224. As discussed below, the GUI 236enables the user to specify the particular portions of the externalservice data 232 to be imported, the corresponding attributes andclasses of the CMDB 220 that will receive the data, various datatransformations (e.g., cleansing) to occur before the data is saved tothe CMDB 220, as well relationships that should be enforced in theexternal service data 232 to ensure data integrity. In certainembodiments, the CMDB importation tool 234 includes (e.g., stored in theimport sources table 222) a predefined importation template that isconfigured for the particular external service 224 to provide an initialset of suggested mappings between the external service data 232 and theCMDB 220, and may also include particular suggested data transformationsfor particular portions of the external service data 232 and enforceparticular relationships within the external service data 232. As such,the disclosed CMDB importation tool 234 enables importation of externalservice data 232 that exists a variety of schemas and data formats. Oncean import operation has been defined using the GUI 236, the CMDBimportation tool 234 performs the import operation to import theexternal service data 232 into the CMDB 220, in accordance with theconfiguration of the import operation.

FIG. 5 is a simulated screenshot of a portion of the GUI 236 of the CMDBimportation tool 234. More specifically, the portion of the GUI 236illustrated in FIG. 5 includes a table 250 presenting a number of importoperations 252, which is a portion of the data stored in the importsources table 222. For the illustrated example, each of the importoperations 252 is associated with a different type of import source. Thetable 250 includes a “Name” column 254A that stores the name of theimport source associated with each of the import operations 252, a“Short Description” column 254B that stores a textual description ofeach of the import operations 252, and a “Recurrence” column 254C thatstores a value indicating how often each of the import operations 252should be performed. The table 250 also includes a “Last Import” column254D that stores a timestamp indicating when each of the importoperations 252 was last performed, an “Import Status” column 254Estoring a value indicating a state (e.g., new, completed, in-process,error) of each of the import operations, a “Next Import” column 254Fthat stores a time-date stamp indicating when each of the importoperations 252 should be performed again, and a “Run Order” column 254Gthat stores a numerical value indicating the order in which the importoperations 252 are performed. It may be appreciated that the illustratedGUI 236 enables a user to interact with (e.g., select, click on, touch)certain fields, such as fields within the “Short Description” column254B, the “Recurrence” column 254C, and the “Run Order” column 254G, toenable the user to alter these values to configure each of the importoperations 252 within the import sources table 222.

It may be noted that, in other embodiments, additional fields mayinclude authentication credentials (e.g., a username and password, acryptographic certificate), an internet protocol (IP) address or uniformresource locator (URL) of the external server 226, a timeout window, andso forth. It may be appreciated that, for certain external services 224,during an import operation, the CMDB importation tool 234 may send amessage to the external service 224 via the network 14 to request thatthe external service 224 provide the external service data 232, while inother embodiments, the external service 224 may be configured toautomatically provide the external service data 232 to the CMDBimportation tool 234 at predetermined intervals (e.g., once per day,once per week, once per month). In still other embodiments, the user maymanually download the external service data 232 from the externalservice 224 to a client device 20, and the user may upload the externalservice data 232 to the CMDB importation tool 234 via a suitable userinterface element of the GUI 236 for importation into the CMDB 220.

For the portion of the GUI 236 illustrated in FIG. 5, the importoperations 252 include: an import operation 252A for a CROWDSTRIKE®import source, an import operation 252B for a SCCM® import source, animport operation 252C for a QUALYS® import source, and an importoperation 252D for a FLEXERA® import source. As such, the import sourcesindicated by the table 250 represent different applications or servicesthat determine information regarding CIs associated with the clientnetwork 12 while providing some functionality (e.g., security,resource/asset tracking, resource/asset management, server/clientmanagement) to the client network 12. For example, certain externalservices 224 may correspond to an endpoint detection and responseservice that collects information regarding potential intrusion eventsin the client network 12, to a system manager application that that isused to configure or control operation of devices on the client network12, to a cloud-base security and compliance service that scans deviceson the client network 12 for vulnerabilities and risk assessment, to aninformational technology asset management service that analyzes theclient network 12 to determine hardware and software resources disposedtherein, or to any other suitable application or service that collectsCI information (e.g., hardware information, software information, statusinformation, incident information) for resources of the client network12. Additionally, in certain embodiments, the CMDB importation tool 234may include default import configurations defined for a set of externalservices 224 that are commonly used by clients that suggest how theexternal service data 232 might be imported into the CMDB 220. However,as discussed herein, the user may customize the import configuration ofeach of the import operations 252 to suit the particular needs of theclient and the particular structure of the clients CMDB 220.

For the illustrated embodiment, the import operation 252A was created inresponse to the user selecting the new import source button 256 and hasnot been completely configured. In addition to the user being able tointeract with the fields of the table 250 to set the recurrence, the runorder, and so forth, the user may interact with the presented value inthe “Name” column 254A to configure how the CI data collected by theimport operation 252A will be imported into the CMDB 220. For example,FIG. 6 is a simulated screenshot of another portion of the GUI 236 ofthe CMDB importation tool 234 that is designed to present additionalinformation about the import operation 252A in response to the userselection of the import operation 252A from the portion of the GUIillustrated in FIG. 5.

The portion of the GUI 236 illustrated in FIG. 6 corresponds to aCROWDSTRIKE® import source that is in the process of being configuredfor importation of CIs data into the CMDB 220. The portion of the GUI236 illustrated in FIG. 6 includes a table 260 presenting sampleexternal service data 232 collected by the corresponding externalservice 224. The table 260 includes a number of columns or attributesincluding: a “Hostname” attribute 262A, an “OS Version” attribute 262B,a “Last Seen” attribute 262C, a “First Seen” attribute 262D, an “AgentVersion” attribute 262E, a “Serial Number” attribute 262F, and a “MACaddress” attribute 262G. The table 260 includes a number of entries orrecords 264, each representing information for a particular CI of theclient network 12, which corresponds to computers and network adaptersfor the illustrated example. It may be appreciated that, in certainembodiments, the sample data presented in the table 260 may not beretrieved from the external service 224, but may be representative ofthe schema and format of the data expected to be received from theexternal service 224 during import.

The portion of the GUI 236 illustrated in FIG. 6 also includes a summarysection 266 that summarizes how the data collected by the import sourcewill be imported into the CMDB 220 when the importation process isperformed. For example, the illustrated summary section 266 includes an“Attributes Mapped” field 268 that presents an integer value indicatingthe number of attributes or fields of the import source data that havebeen mapped to particular attributes or fields of CIs of the CMDB 220.The illustrated summary section 266 includes a “Classes Mapped” field270 that presents an integer value indicating the number of classes ortables of the import source data have been mapped to particular CIclasses or tables of the CMDB 220. The illustrated summary section 266also includes a “Relationships Mapped” field 272 that presents aninteger value indicating the number of relationships (e.g., classrelationships, primary/foreign key relationships) that will be enforcedwhen the import source data is imported into the CMDB 220. Theillustrated summary section 266 further includes a “Related ItemsMapped” field 274 that presents an integer value indicating a number ofattributes or fields of the import source data that are mapped to beimported into multiple attributes or fields of the CMDB 220.

Additionally, for the embodiment of the GUI 236 illustrated in FIG. 6,the “Attributes and Classes” tab 276 is selected, which presents theaforementioned table 260. Each of the columns or attributes 262 listedin the table 260 includes a respective attribute configuration statuselement (e.g., selectable text boxes, buttons) having text indicatinginformation about the configuration status of the particular attributefor the import operation. For example, as illustrated, the text of theattribute configuration status element 278A indicates that the usershould review the configuration of the import operation for attribute262A. The text of attribute configuration status elements 278B and 278Findicates that the corresponding attributes 262B and 262F have beensuitably mapped to classes or tables of the CMDB 220. The text ofattribute configuration status elements 278C, 278D, and 278E indicatesthat the corresponding attributes 262C, 262D, and 262E have not beenconfigured for import and/or are not recommended for import into theCMDB 220. In certain embodiments, these attribute configuration statuselements 278 are colored or shaded to provide visual cues to the user.For example, the corresponding attribute configuration status elements278B and 278F for attributes that have been configured for import mayhave a first color (e.g., green), the corresponding elements 278C, 278D,and 278E for attributes that have not been configured for import mayhave a second color (e.g., grey), and the corresponding element 278A forthe attribute 262A that is only partially configured may have a thirdcolor (e.g., yellow). As such, for this example, the default importconfiguration for this external service 224 included a number ofsuggested mappings, transformations, and relationships within theexternal service data 232, and the GUI 236 enables the user to furtherrefine the import configuration to address situations in which portionsof the default import configuration do not match the particularstructure of the client CMDB 220 or further customization is desired.

For the embodiment of the GUI 236 illustrated in FIG. 6, the attributeconfiguration status elements 278 are selectable to enable the user toconfigure the corresponding attributes for the import operation. Forexample, the user may select (e.g., using a mouse click) attributeconfiguration status element 278A, and in response, the GUI 236 maypresent additional user input mechanisms to enable the user to configurethe attribute 262A for importation, as illustrated in FIG. 7. Morespecifically, in response to the GUI 236 receiving the user selection ofattribute configuration status element 278A, which is requesting furtheruser review, the appearance of the table 260 is modified such thatattribute 262A is highlighted or otherwise emphasized to indicate whichof the attributes is being configured, as shown for attribute 262A inFIG. 7. It may be appreciated that this further review may occur whenthe default import configuration, which may be designed based on commonCMDB structures, does not match the particular structure (e.g., classand attribute names and relationships) of the client CMDB 220.

Additionally, the portion of the GUI 236 illustrated in FIG. 7 includesan attribute import configuration pane 290 having a suitable set of userinterface elements (e.g., user input mechanisms) to enable the user toconfigure the selected attribute 262A for import. For the exampleillustrated in FIG. 7, the attribute import configuration pane 290corresponds to the selected “Hostname” attribute 262A of the table 260,as indicated by the title field 292. The illustrated attribute importconfiguration pane 290 includes an import checkbox 294 that, whenselected, increases the number of mapped attributes to four, asindicated by the “Attributes Mapped” field 268. The illustratedattribute import configuration pane 290 also includes a “Table Type”field 296 that includes a drop-down list storing selectable options,such as “CMDB Class Table” or “non-CMDB Class Table”, indicating thetype of the table hosted by the database server 104 into which theattribute data will be imported. The illustrated attribute importconfiguration pane 290 also includes a “Class” field 298 having adrop-down list storing selectable options of particular classes ortables into which the attribute data will be imported. It may beappreciated that the options available for selection in the “Class”field 298 may be populated with CMDB tables or classes when the “CMDBClass Table” option is selected in the “Table Type” field 296, andpopulated with non-CMDB tables or classes when the “non-CMDB ClassTable” option is selected in the “Table Type” field 296. The illustratedattribute import configuration pane 290 also includes an “Attribute”field 300 that having a drop-down list storing selectable options ofparticular attributes or fields into which the attribute data will beimported. It may be appreciated that the options available for selectionin the “Attribute” field 300 are populated with attributes or fields ofthe class or table selected in the “Class” field 298 to facilitate userselection.

Additionally, the attribute import configuration pane 290 illustrated inFIG. 7 includes an “Attributes Values” section 302 having a “NoTransforms Needed” checkbox 304 that is selected. When the “NoTransforms Needed” checkbox 304 is selected, then the data of theselected attribute 262A will be directly imported into the class andattribute indicated by the user selections in the “Class” field 298 andthe “Attribute” field 300. However, when the “No Transforms Needed”checkbox 304 is unselected, then the user may be presented withadditional user input mechanisms to define how the data should betransformed prior to before being imported, as illustrated in FIG. 8.For the portion of the GUI 236 illustrated in FIG. 8, in response to theuser unselecting the “No Transforms Needed” checkbox 304, the attributeimport configuration pane 290 has been updated to include a “Value Type”field 306 and a “Script” field 308. The “Value Type” field 306 includesa drop-down list storing selectable options of predefinedtransformations, such as “Remove all punctuation,” “Remove all specialcharacters,” “Convert integer/real number to string,” “Make all letterscapital,” and so forth. In certain embodiments, the “Script” field 308is presented in response to the user selecting a “Custom” option in the“Value Type” field 306. Accordingly, by providing suitable text in the“Script” field 308, the user can define a customized script thattransforms the data of the selected attribute 262A before the data isimported into the CMDB 220.

As mentioned, the summary section 266 of the portion of the GUI 236illustrated in FIGS. 6-8 includes the “Relationships Mapped” field 272that presents the integer value indicating the number of relationships(e.g., primary/foreign key relationships) that will be enforced when theimport source data is imported into the CMDB 220, and a “Related ItemsMapped” field 274 that presents an integer value indicating a number ofattributes or fields of the import source data that are mapped to beimported into multiple attributes or fields of the CMDB 220. In certainembodiments, in response to receiving a user selection (e.g., a mouseclick) of the “Relationships and Related Items” tab 310, the CMDBimportation tool 234 may present the portion of the GUI 236 illustratedin FIG. 9. In addition to the summary section 266 discussed above, theportion of the GUI 236 illustrated in FIG. 9 includes a “Relationships”section 320 and a “Related Items” section 322. For the illustratedexample, the two mapped relationships are defined by row 324 and row 326of the “Relationships” section 320, and the one related item is definedby row 328 of the “Related Items” section 322. It may be appreciatedthat the data presented by the GUI 236 may be stored within the importsources table 222, or another suitable location.

For the portion of the GUI 236 illustrated in FIG. 9, rows 324 and 326of the “Relationships” section 320 each include a respective set of userinterface elements (e.g., user input mechanisms) that are designed toreceive user selections to define a relationship to be enforced duringthe importation process. For the example embodiment, these userinterface elements include a “Parent Class” field 330 having a drop-downlist storing selectable options of particular classes or tables that arethe parent in the parent-child class relationship being specified, aswell as a “Child Class” field 332 having a drop-down list storingselectable options of particular classes or tables that are the child inthe parent-child class relationship being specified. Additionally, theseuser interface elements include a “Relationship Type” field 334 having adrop-down list storing selectable options (e.g., “Depends on::Used by”,“Used::Used by”) that define the nature of each parent-child classrelationships. In certain embodiments, the “Relationship Type” field 334may be populated with relationships that are defined between the classesselected by the “Parent Class” field 330 and the “Child Class” field 332within the CMDB 220. Additionally, each of the rows 324 and 326 includesselectable user interface elements, such as the “+” button 336 and the“−” button 338, to enable the addition of additional relationships orthe removal of a defined relationship, respectively. As such, for theillustrated example, the importation process will only import externalservice data 232 that complies with the relationships defined in the“Relationships” section 320 of the GUI 236. For example, the importationprocess will not import data into the Network Adapter CI class, unlessthere is a related entry present in the Computer CI class or that willalso be imported as part of the importation process.

For the portion of the GUI 236 illustrated in FIG. 9, row 328 of the“Related Items” section 322 includes a respective set of user interfaceelements that are designed to receive user selections to define relateditems. These user interface elements include a “Class” field 340 havinga drop-down list storing selectable options of particular classes ortables, and a “Related Item” field 342 indicating an attribute or fieldof the import source data. As such, while the “Serial Number” attribute262F is mapped to be imported into a serial number CMDB table, asindicated by element 278F in FIG. 6, this data is also mapped to beimported into a computer CMDB table as a result of the selections in the“Related Items” section 322. Additionally, the row 328 includesselectable user interface elements, such as the “+” button 344 and the“−” button 346, to enable the addition of additional related items orthe removal of a defined related item, respectively.

As mentioned, one challenge of importing external data into the CMDB 220is dealing with duplicate data. For example, external service data 232imported into the CMDB 220 may be redundant relative to data alreadypresent within the CMDB 220 (e.g., as a result of a discovery process),and the external service data 232 may itself contain duplicate entries.Duplicate CI records exist can lead to confusion and conflictinginformation regarding the state or configuration of a CI, which can leadto poor actionable intelligence. With this in mind, present embodimentsare also directed to a system and method for dealing with duplicate CIentries within the CMDB 220.

FIG. 10 is a simulated screenshot of a GUI 350 presenting CI data storedwithin a LINUX server CI class or table hosted by the database server104 as part of the CMDB 220, as discussed above. For the illustratedexample, the GUI 350 includes a table 352 that presents thecorresponding CI data for LINUX servers of the LINUX service CI class,wherein the CI data may have been collected via discovery, manual entry,importation, or a combination thereof. As such, the table 352 includescolumns 354 that correspond to the attributes stored within the LINUXserver class, including a “Name” attribute 354A, a “Discovery Source”attribute 354B, an “Operating System” attribute 354C, an “OS version”attribute 354D, a “Manufacturer” attribute 354E, and a “Duplicate Of”attribute 354F. It may be appreciated that, while the LINUX servers CItable is illustrated and discussed as an example, the disclosed“Duplicate Of” attribute 354F may be included in some or all of the CIclasses or tables of the CMDB 220.

The disclosed “Duplicate Of” attribute 354F of a CI table can be used tomanage duplicate CI entries within the CMDB 220 in an efficient andeffective manner. The “Duplicate Of” attribute 354F has a null value fora record that is not a duplicate of another entry in the table. When therecord is a duplicate entry, the “Duplicate Of” attribute 354F isdesigned to store a reference (e.g., a unique identifier, a pointer) tothe primary or master record of which the entry is a duplicate. For theexample illustrated in FIG. 10, the second entry in the table 352includes a defined “Duplicate Of” attribute 354F storing a reference tothe first entry in the table 352, indicating that the second entry is aduplicate of the first entry in the CI table. It may be appreciated thatany suitable number of duplicate entries can include a reference to thesame master record. Additionally, in certain embodiments, the CMDB 220may enforce a rule (e.g., a business rule, a database rule) that thereference stored in the “Duplicate Of” attribute 354F can only refer toa master record that is not a duplicate itself (e.g., an entry thatlacks a defined “Duplicate Of” attribute 354F).

In certain embodiments, the value of the “Duplicate Of” attribute 354Fmay be manually defined by a user or automatically defined during animportation process. For example, in certain embodiments, the CMDBimportation tool 234 may be configured to compare the values of certainattributes of an entry of the CMDB 220 to the values of certainattributes of an entry of the external service data 232, and maydetermine that the entry of the import source data is a duplicate of theexisting entry in the CMDB 220 when the attribute values match.Accordingly, the CMDB importation tool 234 may import the entry of theimport source data with a defined “Duplicate Of” attribute 354F thatreferences the existing entry in the CMDB 220. In certain embodiments,when CI data is subsequently imported, discovered, or entered into theCMDB 220 for a record having a defined “Duplicate Of” attribute 354F,then the CMDB 220 instead follows the reference indicated by this fieldto identify the master record, and instead updates the master recordwith the CI data. In this manner, the CMDB 220 ensures that the masterrecord for the CI includes current data for improved actionableinformation content within the CMDB, while also tracking therelationships between duplicate entries to enable a later reconciliationprocess to remove the duplicate entries from the CMDB 220 altogether.

The technical effects of the present disclosure include an importationtool that enables importation of configuration item (CI) data into aconfiguration management database (CMDB) from external services. Thedisclosed CMDB importation tool includes a graphical user interface(GUI) that enables a designer to define an importation source thatretrieves CI data from an external service. The CMDB importation toolincludes corresponding predefined configurations for particular externalservices that define how the data collected by the external services isimported into the CMDB, either directly or via one or moretransformations. These transformations enable the importation of CI dataregardless of the format or schema of the raw data received from theimportation source. The GUI of the CMDB importation tool also enablesconfigurations to be newly defined or customized to accommodatedifferent CMDB designs. Additionally, the GUI of the CMDB importationtool enables relationships to be defined between attributes of theimported data, such that the CMDB importation tool can ensure that theserelationships are enforced during the importation process, enablingimproved internal consistency of the imported data. Furthermore, incertain embodiments, certain CMDB classes may include a “Duplicate Of”attribute that can be used by the CMDB importation tool to enableimproved duplicate tracking and management within the CMDB. As such, thedisclosed techniques enhance both the quantity and quality of CI datastored within the CMDB.

The specific embodiments described above have been shown by way ofexample, and it should be understood that these embodiments may besusceptible to various modifications and alternative forms. It should befurther understood that the claims are not intended to be limited to theparticular forms disclosed, but rather to cover all modifications,equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope ofthis disclosure.

The techniques presented and claimed herein are referenced and appliedto material objects and concrete examples of a practical nature thatdemonstrably improve the present technical field and, as such, are notabstract, intangible or purely theoretical. Further, if any claimsappended to the end of this specification contain one or more elementsdesignated as “means for [perform]ing [a function] . . . ” or “step for[perform]ing [a function] . . . ”, it is intended that such elements areto be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f). However, for any claimscontaining elements designated in any other manner, it is intended thatsuch elements are not to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f).

1. A computing system, comprising: at least one memory configured tostore one or more configuration item (CI) tables of a configurationmanagement database (CMDB); at least one processor configured to executestored instructions to perform actions comprising: generating andproviding a graphical user interface (GUI), wherein the GUI includesuser input mechanisms configured to receive user input to define animport configuration of an import operation to import external servicedata into the CMDB; receiving, via the GUI, the user input and definingthe import configuration of the import operation based on the userinput; receiving the external service data from an external service; andimporting the external service data into the one or more CI tables ofthe CMDB in accordance with the import configuration.
 2. The computingsystem of claim 1, wherein the GUI comprises: an element that presents anumber of attributes of the one or more CI tables that are mapped toattributes of the external service data.
 3. The computing system ofclaim 1, wherein the GUI comprises: an element that presents a number ofthe one or more CI tables that are mapped to the external service data.4. The computing system of claim 1, wherein the GUI comprises: anelement that presents a number of relationships between the one or moreCI tables that are enforced when importing the external service data. 5.The computing system of claim 1, wherein the GUI comprises: an elementthat presents a number of attributes of the external service data thatare mapped to multiple attributes of the one or more CI tables.
 6. Thecomputing system of claim 1, wherein the GUI comprises a tableconfigured to present an example of the external service data, whereineach column of the table represents an attribute of the external servicedata.
 7. The computing system of claim 6, wherein each attribute isassociated with an attribute configuration status element having textindicating a configuration status of the associated attribute.
 8. Thecomputing system of claim 1, wherein the import configuration comprisesa relationship between two CI tables of the CMDB that is enforced duringimporting.
 9. The computing system of claim 8, wherein the relationshipcomprises a Depends on::Used by class relationship or a Used::Used byclass relationship between the two CI tables.
 10. The computing systemof claim 1, wherein, to generate and provide the GUI, the at least oneprocessor is configured to perform actions comprising: generating anattribute configuration status element of the GUI that is associatedwith an attribute of the external service data, wherein the attributeconfiguration status element is selectable and includes text indicatinga configuration status of the associated attribute; and in response toreceiving a selection of the attribute configuration status element,generating an attribute import configuration pane of the GUI thatincludes additional user input mechanisms configured to receiveadditional user input to define the import configuration for theassociated attribute.
 11. The computing system of claim 10, wherein theadditional user input mechanisms include: a first user input mechanismconfigured to receive the additional user input selecting a particularCI table of the CMDB; and a second user input mechanism configured toreceive the additional user input selecting an attribute of theparticular CI table in which the associated attribute of the externalservice data is stored during import.
 12. A computer-implemented method,comprising: generating and providing, to a client device, a graphicaluser interface (GUI) that includes user input mechanisms that receiveuser input to define an import configuration of an import operation toimport external service data into one or more configuration item (CI)tables of a configuration management database (CMDB); receiving, fromthe client device, the user input via the GUI and defining the importconfiguration of the import operation based on the user input; receivingthe external service data from an external service; and importing theexternal service data into one or more CI tables of the CMDB inaccordance with the import configuration.
 13. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 12, wherein generating and providing the GUI comprises:generating and providing, to the client device, one or more elements ofthe GUI that present a number of attributes of the one or more CI tablesthat are mapped to attributes of the external service data, or a numberof the one or more CI tables that are mapped to the external servicedata, or a number of relationships between the one or more CI tablesthat are enforced when importing the external service data, or a numberof the attributes of the external service data that are mapped tomultiple of the attributes of the one or more CI tables, or anycombination thereof.
 14. The computer-implemented method of claim 12,wherein generating and providing the GUI comprises: generating andproviding, to the client device, a table of the GUI that presents anexample of the external service data, wherein each column of the tablerepresents an attribute of the external service data, and wherein eachattribute is associated with an attribute configuration status elementhaving text indicating a configuration status of the associatedattribute.
 15. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein theimport configuration comprises a relationship between two CI tables ofthe CMDB, and wherein importing comprises: discarding a portion of theexternal service data that does not comply with the relationship definedbetween the two CI tables.
 16. A non-transitory, computer-readablemedium storing instructions executable by a processor of a computingsystem, the instructions comprising instructions to: generate andprovide a graphical user interface (GUI) that includes user inputmechanisms configured to receive user input to define an importconfiguration of an import operation to import external service datainto one or more configuration item (CI) tables of a configurationmanagement database (CMDB); receive the user input via the GUI anddefine the import configuration of the import operation based on theuser input; receive the external service data from an external service;and import the external service data into one or more CI tables of theCMDB in accordance with the import configuration.
 17. Thenon-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the importconfiguration comprises a mapping between attributes of the externalservice data and attributes of the one or more CI tables that defineswhere the external service data is stored in the CMDB during import. 18.The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein theinstructions to generate and provide the GUI comprise instructions to:generate and provide an attribute configuration status element of theGUI that is associated with an attribute of the external service data,wherein the attribute configuration status element is selectable andincludes text indicating a configuration status of the associatedattribute.
 19. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 18,wherein the instructions comprise instructions to: in response toreceiving a selection of the attribute configuration status element,generate and provide an attribute import configuration pane of the GUIthat includes additional user input mechanisms configured to receiveadditional user input to define the import configuration for theassociated attribute.
 20. The non-transitory, computer-readable mediumof claim 19, wherein the additional user input mechanisms include: afirst user input mechanism configured to receive the additional userinput selecting a particular CI table of the CMDB; and a second userinput mechanism configured to receive the additional user inputselecting an attribute of the particular CI table in which theassociated attribute of the external service data is stored duringimport.